The answer to the burning question "Can ex-'Saturday Night Live'
everylunk Will Ferrell carry a film by himself?" is here: Almost.
"Elf," an occasionally frantic Christmastime comedy directed by Jon
Favreau ("Swingers"), provides some funny moments before going soppy.
Most of the yucks are courtesy of ungainly manchild Ferrell in the
role of Buddy, a human who, as a tot, crawled into Santa's sack on
Christmas Eve while St. Nick (Ed Asner) was scarfing cookies 'n'
milk. Ending up at the North Pole, the baby is adopted by a kindly
elf (Bob Newhart). Buddy swiftly grows to tower over his tiny
comrades. An adult with none of the toy-making skills of Santa's
Workshop crew, the incompetent, well-meaning Buddy heads for New York
City to find his real father. Of course, everywhere the
fish-out-of-water goes, he's an inane anomaly. Buddy's daddy, a
calculating publishing executive, wants nothing to do with his
long-lost son. Dad is played by blustery James Caan, and the contrast
with Ferrell's sweet goof is well milked. Buddy also gets a love
interest, a cute girl (Zooey Deschanel) working as one of Santa's
elves in a department store. Groan if you think someone's gonna teach
his papa and the rest of New York the true meaning of Christmas.